INDIANAPOLIS -- Kirk Ferentz and Iowa lost to Michigan two times in the last three years in the Big Ten Championship game. In 2021, it was a 42-3 defeat and on Saturday night -- Michigan won 26-0.
The Iowa defense held up to its standards only allowing Michigan to score two touchdowns and gain 213 yards of total offense. But the Iowa offense also held up to its standards. Deacon Hill and the Hawkeyes to just 155 yards of total offense. Iowa also had three fumbles to its name on Saturday night and had several other occasions where the ball could've been intercepted by the Michigan defense.
After the game, Kirk Ferentz met with reporters to talk about his team and the Wolverines.
Here is everything Ferentz had to say about the Michigan Wolverines following the B1G championship.
On the Iowa defense vs. the Michigan offense
Guys have been playing great defense all season long, and tonight was no exception. Tremendous amount of respect for our opponent's offensive football team, their entire football team. I said that during the week. That was sincere. Both teams played got defensively tonight. I don't think it's a huge surprise, and credit to our guys. They gave us a chance and kept us in the game really until that turnover in the third quarter.
The lack of numbers from the Iowa offense despite having turnovers
So probably the two biggest plays, in my opinion, were the punt return and the turnover in the third quarter. Then we turned one over too, which cost us a field goal probably. I would attribute Michigan's defensive performance or our offensive performance to their defense. They have a really good defense, and it's statistically proven. I think they give up ten points a game. That's not our strength right now. We didn't match up well. That's the way it goes. We'll go back to the drawing board.
On the Deacon Hill ruled fumble in the third quarter
I've made it the last two months without getting fined. I'll try again.
I'm really struggling with our replay system. Really struggling with it, as I was after the Minnesota game. However many weeks after that is I'm still struggling on that one. Can't accept it.Tonight what I was told, the arm was going forward, but the hand wasn't, which I'm not sure if that's possible mechanically. I was an English major, but again, I just think we're really taking a game that's relatively simple -- I'm old enough, okay, I was in the league when they started the replay. The whole concept, as I recall, was taking, obviously -- I don't want to say a blown call, but a wrong call. An official got screened, somehow an obvious mistake took place, and you correct it.
We've taken it to a whole different level, and we've been on the short end of two of them. Coaches get fired. Coaches get fired. If you want to talk about the extreme of it, coaches get fired. So I just think we have a system that needs to be readdressed, rediscussed. There's got to be a better way to do it. I feel bad for the officials on the field because they're the ones that have to explain to us a decision that gets made gets made somewhere else.It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense to me. So to me the official on the -- who reviews it on the field should have full ability to make the decision or a centralized location because I just can't understand that it wouldn't be better to have one consistent voice.
You know, that's what it is, but that's an out-of-season discussion. But that was a big play in the game, obviously, once that happened.
Then the other component to that, on the field the whistle blew, and we got penalized a year ago for a guy trying to recover a fumble after a whistle blew. It's really tough to coach your guys when a whistle blows, their guy recovered it. Our guys didn't. I'm not saying that cost us the game. I'm not sitting up here saying that, but it's a pivotal play. So it's just a little bit challenging.
The elements of the Michigan defense that gave Iowa the biggest problems offensively
If you wanted to compare it to last year, this year's, those interior guys, they've got a big physical group of interior guys, and they're good at every position.
That's been Michigan for a long time. I started in '81. That was my first game being involved against them in person. So they've always had good players. They're very well-coached. They've got a lot of girth inside. It was tough to get anything going in the running game, and they rotate guys through. They have fewer, five, six guys that are pretty good in there.
Not that the other guys aren't, don't get me wrong. They're very veteran, very veteran on defense.
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